HOW TO WIN ANGRY AND
DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS
Transcripts
from Radio Business School-20th August 2012
Good morning my Dear Listeners,
you are welcome to yet another exciting edition of Radio Business School, a Business coaching session that is designed
to help you start and manage your business successfully. My name is BASOLA VICTOR and your HOST.
Today is the
continuing the series ON EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE I started 2weeks ago. We
have successfully looked at an introduction to excellent customer service and
last week, we looked at "The ten commandments of excellent customer
service” I believe that teaching was exciting judging from the volume of calls
I received. Today I will be teaching on “HOW TO WIN ANGRY AND DISSATIFIED
CUSTOMERS”
We
have been able to establish in the course of this teaching on EXCELLENT
CUSTOMER SERVICE that the customer is the Real boss and our ultimate duty is to
continually satisfy them. However, in our bid to satisfy them, some of them end
up dissatisfied or even angry either by wrong attitude from us or from a little
misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts. Our approach at such moments
would determine the customer’s perception of our business and also influence
his buying decision in the future. As long as you are in business, you will
always deal with angry customers. What I will be teaching you today would
enable you manage such moments professionally and profitably both to you and
the customer.
Whenever
you encounter an angry or dissatisfied customer, you have a choice. You can
either react defensively or helpfully or give the customer a silent treatment.
As you would find out in the course of this teaching, being on the defensive or
giving the customer a cold treatment doesn’t help the customer to feel one bit
better neither does it solve the problem and it is a very unprofessional way to
react to your hard earned customers. Reacting to angry customers in a defensive
attitude is only asking for more abuse. Shifting blames from one department to
the other would also not help. The most unprofessional of them all is shifting
the blame to your workers; it is a sign of a fault in your leadership and
managerial ability.
The
problem of an angry customer is actually two problems in one. First, you have
to deal with the customer’s feelings, then you have to try as best as you can
to solve the problems that got him angry in the first place. If you simply
solve the problem without making an effort to soothe his anger, he probably
won’t come back and you and I know that we don’t want that to happen. We know
that customers come back to buy when they feel good. The next time you
encounter an angry customer, keep the following ideas in mind and put them to
work.
The
first thing to do when you are approached by an angry customer is to REMAIN
CALM AND POLITE and if you are right, there is no reason to loose your temper,
it’s only normal to want to defend yourself when a customer verbally assaults
you, but it would only make things worse. As
Abigail Van Buren noted, ‘PEOPLE WHO FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE USUALLY END UP WITH ASHES!
One of the worst things to do is to argue with your customer at the moment when
he/she is angry. Even if you win the argument, you will make him/her look
foolish and you will end up loosing the customer.
Instead
keep a comfortable distance and look him in the eyes with expression of someone
who is genuinely concerned about his problem. Respond to his comments with
something like “Sir am sincerely sorry for what went wrong, I will do something
about it immediately to make things right for you”. Keep in mind that the angry
customer is the one with the problem and not the other way round. Let him cool
off his anger. If he is a very loud type, invite him/her to a private office to
hear him out and don’t take his remarks personally. Angry people say all sorts
of irrational things that they don’t mean, most likely customer is not angry
with you as a person so there is absolutely no reason to take his/her words
personally and ascribe it to yourself.
Also
know this; an angry person who is venting his angry and did not quietly walk
away is also giving you critical information. Concentrate on listening for
tangible information that will help you solve the problem rather than taking
the critic personally. “The solution to every problem is in the
problem.”
LISTEN TO THEM (You have to
patiently LISTEN TO THEM):
Proverbs 15:1 “A
soft answer turneth away wrath, but
grievous words stir up anger. It is of primary importance when dealing with an
angry or unsatisfied customer to listen attentively to his/her complaint,
frustration or grievance. Be patient, attentively and friendly. An angry
customer will usually respond well if he feels that you really care about
his/her problem and you are trying to feel what he is feeling. Treating his
problem unemotionally or asking him to fill a form without first listening to
him is just asking for more trouble. Angry people demand to be heard and
understood.
As
you listen, do not argue and do not interrupt, this will only worsen the
situation especially if the customer is really angry. Let him speak before you
try to discuss with him what has happened; listen with full attention and
without interruption. As you listen, look for areas of agreement and agree with
the customer whenever you can, statements such as “I understand why you are
angry”, “I agree that this quite an inconvenience for you” and “If I were you I
would be mad too”. This will show the customer that you are empathizing and
trying to understand him. Most customers will start to calm down after you
listen sympathetically to their initial outburst. At this stage, if you still
haven’t identified the problem or the cause of the problem, use your ears more
than your mouth, that’s the major reason God gave us one mouth and two ears.
Start asking the customer constructive question that will give you this
information about the problem. While the customer is answering your questions,
nod your head in agreement when you want the customer to keep talking. When you
have fully understood the problem and the steam has cooled off, you can now
proceed to the next stage.
TAKE ACTION TO SOLVE THE
CUSTOMER’S PROBLEM: Once the anger subsides, there
would certainly be a short interval when the customer pauses for breath and that
is when you have an opportunity to express your sympathy and understanding. You
have to show that you care and that you will do everything within your power to
try and resolve the situation. This exhibition of concern will win the customer
over and half of the battle is won already, there will be a significant change
in their behavior and you will be able to turn the situation around. Once you
fully understand the customer’s problem, do what you can to help the customer
resolve it as fast as you, if possible, offer the customer several options and
let him choose. If you can’t solve the problem for him, refer him to someone
who can and do what you can to put him in contact with the problem solver. If
your company is at fault, apologize profusely.
One
more important point must be stressed, when you offer the customer solution to
his problem, state them positively. Tell him what you can do rather than what
you cannot do. Don’t say “I can’t give you a refund today”, rather say I will
have your refund ready first thing tomorrow morning, instead of saying, we
don’t open on Saturday, rather say “we are open till 5pm on Friday to serve
you.
Let
me share an example, last week one of our clients whom we supplied a driver to,
the driver couldn’t resume work and when my client called that he was stranded
and needed to go to work, we had no spare driver on ground and we had to detail
one of our staff a female for that matter to drive him to work until the
situation was normalized.
BRING THE SITUATION TO A POLITE
CLOSE: Once you have solved the
customer’s problem or done what you can to resolve it, ask him, “IS THERE ANY
OTHER WAY I CAN BE OF HELP TO YOU TODAY? Assuming the answer is no, thank the
customer for telling you about his dissatisfaction, while you may find it
strange to thank someone who just gave you a hard time, keep in mind that he
may have provided you with information that will prevent the occurrence of his
problem in the future and keep you from loosing customers. A customer with the
passion to get angry also has the ability to be loyal.
Remember
that it’s the customers who don’t complain and quietly walk away and don’t come
back are the ones who do the most damage. When appropriate, make a follow-up
call to the customer to make sure that the problem was properly solved.
This
important finishing touch tells the customer that his problems are your utmost
concern. Dealing with angry upset customers takes a great deal of humility and
self control and it is a tough job for most of us but you can learn it if you
really want to ensure the continued success of your business. Angry and
dissatisfied customers who complain to you are beneficial to you. This is
because they point out areas in your business that needs improvement.
Complaints also give you a second chance to provide service and satisfaction to
dissatisfied customers.
A
complaining customer is being honest with you; complaints are also a wonderful
opportunity to build customer loyalty. A rapidly settled complaint can actually
create more customer loyalty. Customers are much more likely to remember the
“extra touch” and genuine concern that you exhibited when they felt
dissatisfied.
Till we meet
again, I wish you a fruitful and productive week ahead.
Basola
Victor is the Principal Consultant/CEO of Business Skills Africa Limited, an
Enterprise consulting firm based in Benin, Nigeria. He is the Author of “The
Keys to Starting a Successful Business” and The HOST of RADIO BUSINESS SCHOOL
on Radio Nigeria Bronze 101.5FM.